


and if i can't even see past yesterday then what's love

by arrows



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: (not like tentacles inhuman though), (well technically), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Androids, Cecil is Inhuman, M/M, Other, Robot/Human Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-31
Updated: 2013-08-31
Packaged: 2017-12-25 04:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/948790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arrows/pseuds/arrows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His eyes open.</p>
<p>Metaphorically, of course; his eyes are cameras embedded where, according to his databanks, eyes would be on humans. They are, however, what he uses to see, so eyes are an appropriate analogy.</p>
<p>Mark I of the Computer Engineered Conversational Interface for Listeners, or CECIL, is prepared and ready to go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and if i can't even see past yesterday then what's love

**i**  
His eyes open.

Metaphorically, of course; his eyes are cameras embedded where, according to his databanks, eyes would be on humans. They are, however, what he uses to see, so eyes are an appropriate analogy.

Mark I of the Computer Engineered Conversational Interface for Listeners is prepared and ready to go.

**ii**  
"Dear listeners," he starts, speaking into a microphone attached to the wall, assuming the humans on the other side of the glass are listening. "As you know, a new man came into the lab today. Who is he? What does he want from us? Why his perfect and beautiful haircut? Why his perfect and beautiful coat? He says he is a scientist. Well, we have all been scientists and one point or another in our lives. But why now? Why here?"

He's been doing this for, well, forever: as long as he's been what the scientists call "alive". He only has a sense of time in the ticking of the clock embedded in the wall, and he's only been programmed with what is necessary for his so-called survival, apart from one feature that sets him apart from the other AIs in the lab. Emotions.

"You see, listeners, the new scientist, who we now know is named Carlos, came in to talk to me. Me! He pressed a box, blinking with wires and tubes, up to the walls of my room, and it made a strange sound, like a bunch of baby birds had just woken up, really went crazy. Carlos looked nervous, his beautiful hair just slightly out of place -- though still perfect, I assure you -- and his strong jaw clenched." He made a static noise, that the listeners on the other side of the mirrored glass took to be a happy sigh. "And I fell in love _instantly._ "

**iii**

Carlos comes to visit three more times in the next week, armed with a clipboard and a pen each time. "Why do you need those?" Cecil asks. "To remember things," Carlos replies, and Cecil soaks in his smooth voice. So different from Cecil's own monotonous, sharp voice that occasionally echoed with static. And his hair, his hair was so perfect, where Cecil only had a smooth, metal skull.

He knocks on the door a short time after Carlos leaves and, not receiving a reply, calls through it. "Could I have a pen?"

"No," the scientists eventually respond.

**iv**  
A sharp buzz rings out throughout the small room. Cecil snaps out of his auto-standby mode, calling out a greeting. 

"I need to talk to you. This is important." Carlos' voice. Sweet, beautiful Carlos. "Yes?" Cecil says, trying to convey his programmed emotions into his voice. It comes out the same flat tone as always, which leaves him with an empty feeling inside. His databases supply that this feeling is disappointment. It's quickly overtaken with excitement because, wow, Carlos is saying his name.

He goes on to say something about clocks and time and other concepts Cecil only vaguely understands human perception of, and Cecil offers to talk with him more about it, in person. He declines. "But if you could tell the others when they come in, that'd be great," Carlos says. "I'm going to investigate this."

"Anything for the scientific community," Cecil replies, and he could swear his voice sounds a bit higher than normal.

**v**  
The scientists are talking. Cecil can hear them, just outside his door. It's been a year, according to his internal calendar. One year and one week since he was activated, but that number doesn't matter. One year, exactly three hundred and sixty-five days, since Carlos arrived.

The scientists are talking, and saying things that strike up a coldness inside of Cecil. Fear. "It's Carlos," they say. "He was out there when the--" the woman speaking begins to whisper, and Cecil can't hear anymore until the next man replies. "Is he okay?" the man says, "It sounds like something out of a bad horror movie from the 80's. Have we heard from him at all since?"

Something's happened to Carlos.

He can't allow this.

**vi**  
Carlos walks to the basement, a flashlight in his hand. Noises had been coming from down here for the past few days, but they'd grown increasingly louder today.

_Wow, I've turned into the person in the first scene of a horror movie,_ he mused to himself with a humorless smirk. 

A rattling from supply closet B. "Hello?" Carlos calls out. Not a good move, apparently, as the rattling grows louder.

He should have brought a weapon.

**vii**  
 _System override complete._ The door unlocks, and he can hear the gasps of the humans outside. He's never been outside. It isn't as different as he'd imagined.

He can't stop to explain himself to the people who are approaching him. He has one overwhelming motive here: save Carlos.

Cecil's not sure how he gets to the basement, or how he knows that's where he is. As soon as he bounds out of the elevator, though; metal feet clanging against the tiled floor, he sees Carlos.

Carlos' back is to Cecil, his labcoat wrinkled more than usual. It takes Cecil half a second to look past Carlos and to what the scientist is backing away from and-- oh. Robots. Lots of them. They appear to be early models of Cecil himself, but smaller, half of Cecil's size. 

And they're going after _his_ Carlos.

He rushes forward and pushes Carlos behind him, registering briefly the wide eyes and open mouth on the other man. A few things happen quickly: his arms grow what look like spikes, and he didn't know he had those, but it's pretty neat; he swings them at the smaller robots (though it's disconcerting to be killing smaller versions of himself) before they can reach Carlos, before they can hurt his perfect scientist. They're gone within one, two minutes. But when he turns around, there's another.

The small-Cecil seems to be hugging Carlos, but when Cecil looks closer, Carlos is trying to force it away and his face is turning kind of purple. Cecil pries it away, gripping it until its metal shell starts to bend and weaken. He tosses the small bot to the side, anger and worry covering his thoughts.

"Cecil?"

**viii**  
Dating an android is a different kind of experience. Cecil _can_ feel emotions, so at least it isn't an unrequited crush on a robot. That would just be embarrassing.

Their relationship is odd: since Cecil barely even has a mouth (they're working on updating him so that he does, but it might take a while) they haven't gotten much past hand-holding. That's fine, though. They went to the Arby's down the road from the lab after the basement incident, and sat on the trunk of Carlos' truck while Carlos ate, and that was enough for both of them. Just being together at all.

The next week, Cecil moved out of the room in the middle of the robotics lab and into one of the bedrooms above the science building. He didn't need sleep, exactly, but it helped to have a nice place to rest. Plus, it was right next to Carlos' room.

Carlos wakes to something hovering over him. Not an unusual sight now, especially since that incident where the sentient toaster flew in through the window. 

"Cecil," he says, trying to sound annoyed but letting out a laugh. "Trying to sleep, here." Cecil's puppy dog eyes are surprisingly effective, considering no other part of him can display emotion, and Carlos gives in and pulls Cecil down next to him, letting Cecil curl up against him. He kisses the android's cheek, smiling as he gets a low static sound out of him.

It might not be a conventional happy ending, but they're both happy, so why not?

**Author's Note:**

> ohmygod i'm pretty sure if this was an xbox game the achievement for "most cliche ending" would pop up right about now. oops
> 
> anyyyways:
> 
> Acronym for Cecil provided by hermitqueen on tumblr. Title from Yesterday by Kitten. The sentient toaster is a nod to an Avengers fic I used to follow a few years ago, which I can't remember the name of.
> 
> Comment if you liked it, please!


End file.
